Sam Bradford's Shower Meeting Works Wonders
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Sam Bradford didn't like the tenor of the season. The Eagles' new quarterback, who has been at the core as to why the Birds were mired in the NFC East basement, felt the time was right to speak out and speak up.
Just prior to kickoff on Sunday, Bradford called the entire offense together in the corner of the bathroom locker room and somehow everyone managed to fit. Bradford's message was clear and emphatic. He told his teammates that he hadn't spoken up much lately, that it was time he said something before the season spun out of control with a loss to the visiting New Orleans Saints.
"Sam told us it's go time and we all know we're good, and now let's go be good," Eagles' guard Matt Tobin recalled. "It was good to hear that. It was very defining moment, because we went out and moved the ball like crazy. It was fun to be out there. He said he hadn't spoken up much lately, and it was time for him to speak up."
Left tackle Lane Johnson said someone had to staunch the listing Eagles. That someone, it appears, was Bradford, who completed 32 of 45 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, along with two interceptions. While player-only meetings seem all the rage right now in Philadelphia (with the Flyers holding one Saturday night after only their second game), this one led to something.
"We just had an edge, you're tired of losing, no one likes losing around here," Johnson said. "Even before the game today, Sam pulled us back there by the showers and had an offensive meeting. He told us that's time to go. We have the talent, we have the ability, we just have to go out there and get it done. It's just a matter of executing. The meeting happened right before we went out for the game. The entire offense, everyone, and Sam was pretty much the only one that spoke."
Still, even after Bradford threw two interceptions in the end zone, the Eagles still believed.
"We knew could move the ball against them," Johnson said. "It hadn't seemed right, us going out there and not doing what we normally do. Finally, we got a sense of getting the job done. We knew they were getting tired. We ran 50 plays in the first half, and that's a lot of plays. Over time, they wore down. They knew what was coming, and they were too tired of stopping it. This was a big test for the offensive line. I think it helped being under center as far as the run game was concerned. Being in the shot-gun all of the time, I think they can pinpoint where the back is going. This shows we're resilient."
